Tiger Woods Will Shave His Head

Tiger can’t catch a break. He keeps hurting himself and, since he’s Tiger Woods, he has to answer questions about it. Woods works hard to stay gracious but he’s trapped in an unfamiliar cage of mediocrity. It’s palpable. Woods wants to give different answers to very different questions, but the narrative drags him down. The Tiger Woods story isn’t a scripted drama–it’s reality TV and he’s a star going through some hard times.

Woods, nearly 39, recently sat down with Colleen Dominguez for a chat. He was forcibly optimistic, but it’s getting harder. He points out that world number 1 Rory McIlroy is “only 13 years” younger than he is–and that the two of them will be competing head to head for “a while” yet. Asked if he’s comfortable with aging, Woods says: “I’m comfortable with it. My hairline is not. I’m fighting for the cause, I’m fighting it hard. It’s a no-win fight but I’m hanging in there.” Will he get to the point where he’ll just shave his head? “I think I will,” Woods replied. Without a hat he “can feel the heat up there.” Not to mention the heat at his feet–from McIlroy and his head full of thick curls.

Tiger can’t catch a break. He keeps hurting himself and, since he’s Tiger Woods, he has to answer questions about it. Woods works hard to stay gracious but he’s trapped in an unfamiliar cage of mediocrity. It’s palpable. Woods wants to give different answers to very different questions, but the narrative drags him down. The Tiger...